Guidance: To Love
by Tia-Chan18
Summary: Sequel to Guidance. Orihime decided to take Nel's advice and talk to Ichigo. Instead she avoids him until he comes to her. What happens when she finds out that Rukia and Ichigo's relationship is just a mere joke? -IchiHime-


Alright! Finally I'm presenting the sequel to Guidance! It kinda took me a bit to get an actual sequel in my mind with school and I'm sick now DX Which totally sucks. I figured that since I haven't wrote another story in a while I should do it now. So I hope you enjoy this story ^_^

Disclaimer: Don't own bleach. **Period**

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_Maybe things are meant to be this way. It makes more sense, doesn't it? After all I lost Onii-Chan, it's only natural I'd lose someone else important to me as well. _She thought. It was a sunny afternoon but to Orihime, it was nothing but grey skies. At least in her world it was. _I'm so selfish. I don't want him with anyone else except me. But if he stays by me, he'll end up in pain. It's not that I hate Rukia or anything. Maybe I've always been jealous because she has everything that I want._

_She has a brother who loves her. Even after her sister died, Byakuya-Sama continued to search for her because it was her sister's dying wish. When he finally found her, she wanted Renji-Kun's opinion before she made a decision. But he let her go because he realized it would make her happy. He wanted what was best for Rukia._

_I wonder if I could do the same with Kurosaki-Kun. But thinking about this now, I know I'm not like Renji. I couldn't do that. He came to save me from that wretched place. He said he would always protect me. Why can't I live with that? What's holding me back from doing that?_

"_I'll get stronger, And next time, I will protect you!"_

_Why? Why can't I do anything to help you Kurosaki-Kun? I hurt you so badly, yet you still came for me. Even though you have Rukia, you would still sacrifice yourself to save me. Each time I think of you and Rukia together hugging and kissing, tears would pour from my eyes. I should be happy for you two, not feel this way! It's not fair to the both of you!_

She sat with her knees up to her chest. She stayed with her face in her knees, staring down into the pond. She liked being here. She felt free from all her problems. She could think about anything without anyone interrupting. Nothing could bring her down. Well, except for today.

"Hey, Inoue."

She stiffened. Hearing the sound of Ichigo's voice only made her heartache worse. He sat down beside her and she tensed up even more. _How did he know where I was?_

"Before you ask, Nel told me where I could find you. Although she seemed rather mad. For whatever reason."

She still said nothing. Actually, she tried ignoring him. But it was a lot harder than she thought. The wind pass by the two teens, creating small ripples in the pond below them. _Why is this so hard? It's like I want to tell him everything. I want him to hold me and kiss me. To tell me that everything will be alright. I want him to tell me one more time that he'll protect me. But it's so wrong. Selfish._

_He has Rukia and I have no one. That's how it should be. Or so I keep telling myself. _

She looked up at the sky. She was sitting there for so long the sun was already beginning to set. She hasn't even said a word yet. It made her feel horrible for just sitting there. But she couldn't think of anything to say. Anything to talk about.

_Don't just stand there! Why are you letting them be happy while you're wallowing in misery? It's not fair how you and Renji have to suffer through the pain of not being with the ones you love! If you want Ichigo so badly, then take him for yourself! Don't let Rukia have him!_

_But Nel-Chan, I can't do that. Even if I'm jealous of her, it wouldn't be fair to any of us. I'd rather have Kurosaki-Kun as a friend then lose him over something as simple as jealousy._

"The sunset sure is pretty. Don't you think... Inoue?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"You've been pretty quiet today Inoue. You wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"Err... it's nothing!" She lied.

"Alright. If you say so. But you should smile more. A lot of us love your smiles Inoue."

_Are you one of those people Ichigo?_ She wanted to ask, but refrained from letting it slip from her mouth.

He sighed as he leaned back on his hands.

"You know, I wonder if I could ever bring myself to tell this one amazing woman I know that I love her to death."

"Who is she? What kind of a person is she?" She gasped. She didn't know what made her ask that. But it ended up slipping from her mouth.

He chuckled. "Well, let's see. She gets a ton of attention from practically everybody. She is very smart, beautiful and has an overactive imagination. She could have any guy she wanted so I know she wouldn't love some punk like me. And I went to a very nasty place just to save her."

Orihime was very quiet. She was absorbing everything he had said. Finally she spoke. "Why don't you tell her how you feel? I'm sure she would love you back."

"I just did."

She gasped and looked at him. He looked at her and smiled. Tears came flowing freely down her cheeks as he stood up. She turned her gaze back to the ground before closing her eyes, trying to stop the flow.

He bent down and scooped her into his arms. Her eyes shot open and bore into his chocolate brown eyes. Oh how she loved those eyes. Whenever she gazed into them, she felt peace and security. They reassured her that everything would be fine. She remembered what he told her before facing against Grimmjow.

"_You too Inoue. Don't worry. I'll win this for sure." _

That's how she knew that he would definitely win. He always promised her. And she always knew he would come through. Although there was a time where she had her doubts, somehow Nel had gotten through to her. Told her that it was really Ichigo. She remembered what she yelled at him, in fear that he might die.

"_Don't die! Kurosaki-Kun!"_

She never doubted him after that fight. He had always fulfilled his promises. Because that was the type of man he was.

"But what about Rukia? I thought you two were-"

He looked at her. "What?! No! We were never dating! It was all just a joke. To see if you really loved me or not. Rukia told me that you loved me but I kept telling myself that you never felt the same way as I did. So Rukia came up with the idea of us dating to see if we could make you jealous. Nel was part of the whole thing too. That's why looking back at it, I don't know why she seemed so mad just a few hours ago."

Then his gaze softened. "I'm sorry if we'd hurt you. It just never occurred to me that you could love me so much as I loved you. Please don't hate Rukia. Or me for that matter. I never wanted to go along with it but she-"

She had cut him off with her lips. His eyes widened a bit before they closed, enjoying the feel of her mouth against his. Her arms snaked around his neck, bringing him closer to her. He couldn't help but smirk. _So the plan actually worked after all. Who would've guessed? _Her hand went into his hair, lightly pulling at his orange spikes.

They pulled away, only to rest their foreheads against each other. She giggled "Silly. I would never hate any of you. Especially you. You should know that by now. After all, what are friends for? Right? And as long as it ended like this, why should it matter?"

He grinned. "I swear I will never hurt you again. I will always protect you with my life."

She smiled. "I know. Say, Ichigo?"

"Hn?" He mumbled as he started to walk towards Karakura.

"I love you. For more than Five Lifetimes."

He pressed his lips to her forehead. "Yeah? I love you too Orihime. For more than Five Lifetimes."

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**A/N:** LOL so how do u like the ending? Pretty cute ne?

I bet nobody would've guessed that it was all planned out. And Rukia had to be the mastermind of course. *smirks* Just cause she's cool like that. But I bet you never expected Nel to be part of her grand scheme.

This one is obviously shorter than the other one but has more meaning to it. I actually used some lines from the manga. Just to keep some things real XD. I'm surprised that some lines went well with this story.

Anyways, thanks for reading the sequel to Guidance ^^ I hope you enjoyed ;)

~Tia-Chan~


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